Welcome to the Genii Archive of issues from 1936, when Genii was founded by William Larsen, Sr., to 1998, when Erika Larsen, the third generation Larsen editor, ended her editorship and the magazine was sold to The Genii Corporation.

All 61 volumes, from 1936 to 1998, are available in PDF form. The vast treasures within these tens of thousands of pages, thousands of illusions, tricks, and articles, is staggering. It would take you years to read all of Genii.

The entire archive is fully searchable. So, for example, if you wanted to find every instance when Dai Vernon is mentioned in those 61 years of Genii, you would just enter Dai Vernon's name in the window and press the search button. Simple.

In addition, the entire 7 volume run of The Conjuror's Magazine, edited by Walter Gibson, is available. This famous magazine from the 1940s became the property of Genii when it ceased publication and was purchased by William Larsen, Sr.

The system is set up to allow you to print out individual pages.

Prices:Single Use (24 Hours): $10Six-Month Use: $45One-Year Use: $65Unlimited Use (for the life of the database): $200

When you sign up and pay, you will be charged within 48 hours. Within a maximum of one week (but usually within 24 hours--it depends upon whether the editor is traveling), you will receive a password. That password will allow you to login to the system. Please keep the password to yourself. We will log all IPs and periodically check that only the logged IP is using the system. Anyone found allowing others to use his or her password will be immediately deleted from the sytem and no refunds will be given for such violations.

If you have any questions, please direct them to Richard Kaufman (Do not use the normal Genii e-mail address).

Richard, could you explain the 'for the life of the database' option? Does it mean that I could download all of Genii so that I have it available offline, even if for whatever reason you decide not to offer access?

Ask Alexander, where the files are stored, is not under my control and I have no idea how long The Conjuring Arts Research Center will maintain it ... 10 years? 20 years? I can't say (and neither can the guy who runs it, Bill Kalush).

You can only download single pages one at a time by specifically referencing them, so good luck in downloading all of it. I'm sure you have better things to do with your life.

Even if it's only 10 years, I think $200 is a great deal. During that time you should be able to read and download anything you find of interest.

Here's a question; are the memberships upgradeable? But that I mean that if one was to sign up for the annual access, but two months in wish to upgrade to the lifetime deal, would that be available for 135 dollars? Or would we have to pay another 200?

Jim, I am asking my questions for the benefit of all. I have dealt with digital information for a long enough time to know the questions that come up once reality sinks in.

If somebody pays $200 and next year the database is pulled down for unspecified reasons, then it is too late to ask these questions.

- It is important to know if there is a download limit (a little script can do all the work to download day and night millions of pages)

- It is important to know how long access is guaranteed. Is there a mirror site or alternative archives and access, which will remain independent of Genii or Conjuring Arts? If I buy a PDF today, I can make sure myself via backup that I have it for as long as I wish. I might even convert it to another format if I need to. If I only have online access it is crucial to know what are the limitations of this access so that I am informed what to expect.

I am trying to be helpful to avoid problems later down the road. It is clear that not much thought has been given to this issue. My suggestion is to put down the rules and limitations before issues arise.

I appreciate that there might need to be a lag time of maybe 12 months or so. Maybe more recent volumes could be available to Genii subscribers only. It seems like a great opprotunity to keep the database up to date.

Many other journals and newspapers provide electronic access to current issues. Since the system is now in place at Genii it would make a lot of sense to provide free electronic access to subscribers and perhaps even a purely electronic subscription for a lower price.

All of this would be very easy to setup, since Genii's pre-press is PDF. Look what Magicseen offers. You can buy single issues as PDFs. That's cool. Halleluja! They get it and offer very easy access to their journal. Their subscription will increase, their cost decrease, they will make more profit to plow back into an even better magazine. I wish more would get it. At least Genii is offering access to digital back issues. That's a good start. I hope Richard goes a few steps further.

1) Thanks for your business advice Mr. Wasshuber, fortunately most people would be glad you're not the editor of Genii. At this point in time, most people want a magazine that's beautifully printed, that they can hold in their hands, and is easy to read and carry around. (Please don't respond to this statement as I'm ALREADY tired of your response and I haven't even read it yet.)

2) Mr. Kendall: Yes, memberships will be upgradeable.

3) There is no download limit, but I will create one if I find people using technology to download the entire file or simply delete that person's membership.

4) As far as how long the database will be up, it should be at least 10 years. You'll just have to trust me on that one. Plenty of thought has been given to the issue, contrary to Mr. Wasshuber's statement.

5) Mr. Aguilar: There will be no option to download single issues, however you can purchase the original copies of many single issues from our office. I've thought about periodically adding newer out-of-print issues to the archive, but haven't decided about that--probably not.

6) Mr. Evans: there are no plans to offer any additional years of Genii online. Nothing past the Larsen years, which ended in 1998. We have lots of back issues to sell from 1999 onward.

7) Mr. Wasshuber: I think Magicseen is making a mistake offering digital downloads of its magazine--but that's something for their editors to find out. Since you have no experience that I know of as a hard-copy publisher, perhaps you'll leave the expertise in that area to those of us who've been doing it for almost 30 years.

Originally posted by Richard Kaufman:5) Mr. Aguilar: There will be no option to download single issues, however you can purchase the original copies of many single issues from our office. I've thought about periodically adding newer out-of-print issues to the archive, but haven't decided about that--probably not.

Right. Thanks for the heads up on this.

I had totally forgotten that you also have Larson era back issues for sale. Will a price list for those older issues eventually be posted up on the back issues page?

I have two questions.First (And forgive me if this is a silly question) but will you be able to print the pages/issues and if not will this feature become available in the future? (Possibly with an added cost.)

Originally posted by Richard Kaufman: We will log all IPs and periodically check that only the logged IP is using the system. Anyone found allowing others to use his or her password will be immediately deleted from the sytem and no refunds will be given for such violations.

What if you go on vacation or, like yourself, travel a great deal. Obviously if regularly access the database from, say, Toronto and you find yourself on vacation in England there would be different IP's.Would there be some system in place where you could notify the person running the database with travel plans so that they know that this particular person will be accessing from this part of the world during this particular time period?

I second Gord's question, Richard, which I'm not quite sure you answered with your last post.

In my case, I use several different internet cafes (there are about ten on on one of the main streets near by) and of course often use a different computer even in the same cafe. Could allowances be made on a personal basis for this kind of thing?

Youre not wrong. As long as you are a member of Conjuring Arts, theres no reason to sign up for this service. But someone who wants just Genii and not everything else the CA offers, they have this option.

Originally posted by Lucca Pacholi: I could be wrong (again!) but I have has access to Genii as a member of the Conjuring Arts Alexander Project.

Why would I want to pay another $200?

The only reason why you might want to pay the $200 would be to ensure access for the lifetime of the DB. The Conjuring Arts memberships are only valid for one year, after which you need to renew. Aside from that, there's no reason to sign up for the Genii access, and I don't think anyone would suggest that you do.

Yes, the minimum yearly fee for joining The Conjuring Arts Research Center is $95. Two times that yearly fee will give you access to Genii for the life of the database, which I trust will be many years.Each has its own benefits and you must decide not only which you can afford, but which suits your needs best.

Another caveat about IP addresses; many UK ISPs provide dynamic addressing, which means a single computer will likely have a different IP address each time it connects. Often the lease time is only an hour, so the same machine would have different addresses before and after lunch.

This may be the case overseas as well, but I have no experience with them.

Originally posted by Joe Pecore:Does the Conjuring Arts have all the back issues?

As far as I can tell, the full set of Larsen Geniis from 1936 through 1998 is available via Alexander. The link you provided lists the physical copies they possess.

As far as quality goes, I don't know if Richard will post a sample, but as someone who has been using Alexander since the beginning of the year, I can state with confidence that the quality is very high. Everything is readable, and the photos are clear. There are some issues with the OCR; it isn't any better or worse than other digital archives I've accessed. But it's not bad and shouldn't inhibit you from any research you might do.

Could you please clarify your answer to Gord's question? Specifically, if you're going to track access via IP address, how will you handle my accessing the database from home AND work AND possibly a hotel?

Just generically saying that you have a plan and I'll be able to do that is enough for me, I don't want you to waste your time on specifics.

By the way, congratulations on taking this step...I think it's a great idea.

As for Gord's question in the states this is more to this than just traveling. Many people are still using dial-up and not all high speed internet providers give static IP's. So there will be people who have a different IP everytime they log on. And as many others have stated if they use cyber cafe's and the like there are furthur issues. I think this question is very important for potential buyers and needs to be addressed.

I wouldn't mind seeing the ability to download a single article all at once (even if it spans multiple pages that is). Any chance that could ever be? Or is the one page at a time thing pretty much set in stone?

Originally posted by Richard Kaufman: Answers to questions:1) Thanks for your business advice Mr. Wasshuber, fortunately most people would be glad you're not the editor of Genii.

I am not aspiring to be editor of Genii, nor would I be qualified to fill this position. Also, you seem to assume that editor is equal publisher, which is for many journals in general not the case. But I do have quite a bit of business experience as well as business education which more than qualifies me to comment on these issues. My intention is not to convince you of my argument, because that would be foolish for me to assume, but just to engage in a discussion where we all can learn something. Which I would hope is the purpose of this forum.

Originally posted by Richard Kaufman:7) Mr. Wasshuber: I think Magicseen is making a mistake offering digital downloads of its magazine--but that's something for their editors to find out. Since you have no experience that I know of as a hard-copy publisher, perhaps you'll leave the expertise in that area to those of us who've been doing it for almost 30 years.

Time will tell. My bet is that Magicseen will ultimately grow their profit this way. They are expanding the market by making their product available in different ways. There is a significant customer segment which does not want to subscribe, but which is willing to buy single issues whenever they feel like it. Magicseen makes this easy. Some of these single issue buyers will like it so much that they will subscribe.

Oh BTW you wouldn't believe how much experience I have as journal publisher.

Just a note on IP. Unless you have your own server connected via a permanent connection, your IP is likely to change frequently. And since I would assume that pretty much everybody uses some sort of ISP your IPs would change all the time, not even taking into account various moves, switch of ISP, trips, internet cafes, aso. Making access depend on IP is ok if you deal with organizations which have a certain IP space for themselves. Otherwise, for individual users, it is a bad idea and simply doesn't work.

Originally posted by Richard Kaufman: We have no way to create pdf files of single issues at the moment. So, yes, you'll have to print out or download the pdf one page at a time.

I actually meant per article, not per issue, but thanks for letting me know it's likely not going to happen.

Oh, here's a question. The downloads are pure text of the articles correct? No ads and such? It's not just images of the pages, but rather converted text of just the actual articles?

If, for instance, an article took several pages and thus several separate pdf's, I can say that's not too bad because there are efficient free software tools to stitch single pdf pages together if need be.

Once things are running smoothly, I wouldn't be surprised If I gave it a go for at least a day to try it out. $10 isn't a huge investment and I'm sure I could find some good stuff in 24 hours. Though, since the system has already been running pretty well for Kalush, I probably have no real need to wait except for my impecunious nature. :)

On a slightly different note, I tend to agree with you about Magicseen. I think offering their current issues online could really bite them in the ass.

Originally posted by Chris Aguilar: On a slightly different note, I tend to agree with you about Magicseen. I think offering their current issues online could really bite them in the ass.

Chris, could you argue your point for the education of the rest of us? Why do you think it is a bad idea for Magicseen? I gave some reasons why I think it is good and will lead to more profit. I would be interested in your line of thought.